Japanese performance artist and musician Sachie Mikawa has been creating her musically driven theatrical world for the last 20 years. 

Mikawa has appeared in festivals and productions in North and South America, Europe, UK, Australia, and New Zealand, where she is currently based. Mikawa is often seen as Egg in the internationally infamous circus comedy duo, The Birdmann and Egg shows.

One half of the Wellington based production company Monfu, Mikawa shares advice she'd share with her younger self as she gets ready for her show Fish Saw to hit Wellington's BATS theatre and Auckland's Basement Theatre.

At 22, I was living in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood in Seattle in the US, could barely communicate in English and was keenly aware that my marriage wasn’t going to work out. 

In the second half of that year, I finally had enough courage to knock on the door of a local acting school. 

With my broken English and head full of doubt and hope, I embarked on a wondrous and strange journey in the world of performance.

Travelling is a necessity for your growth

Your world expands each time you leave a place and go to another. 

Navigating in a foreign place will keep you humble and sharp. Try learning at least one more foreign language other than English. You can also travel the world in your mind by reading books from different parts of the world. 

It's never too late to join the circus

You won’t meet your clown until your mid-20s and it’ll be a revelation as you had assumed being a “performer on stage” meant being an actor. 

Your clown will give you many performing opportunities, and eventually, you’ll meet the love of your life thanks to the path presented by the clown. And then on one fateful day in a forest in Tasmania, (drum roll, please) you will become Egg, the part you were born to play. 

At the time of writing this, you are the oldest person playing an unborn character and I think you might end up in the Guinness World Records one day. You and Egg will get to perform in so many places around the world, which is fantastic and surreal at the same time. 

森林浴 (Shinrin-yoku/Forest bathing)

A forest will heal you every time. 

Don't wait, make your own work

As you’ll find out very soon, there aren’t many parts for Asian women, especially in the early 2000s. But do not fret! You just need to start making your own work. 

It’s not an easy process at first, but you’ll be blessed with brilliant and generous mentors and soon realise that’s what you were meant to do anyway since you are obsessed with originality.

Don't shut the door to music

I know you think you are done playing music after many years of not feeling joy in competitive settings, and in fact, you won’t want anything to do with it for several more years. 

But music will return in an unexpected way. And this time, it will be beautiful and fun because you get to create your own. 

Open your heart to the cats

They’ll be your teacher, muse, and boss. They’ll judge you as you clean their poop, sit on your face while you sleep and eat all the bugs (sorry, bugs). They will also give you so much comfort and connection to the mysterious. 

Get a cat!

Know that being called weird is a compliment 

The definition of the word “weird” is supernatural or fantastic. So just say thank you.

Seek out women artists and writers

Do this ASAP. They will save your freakin’ soul. 

Sachie Mikawa's award-winning multimedia theatre show Fish Saw plays at BATS Theatre Wellington 28 March - 1 April, and at Basement Theatre Auckland 4 - 6 April.